Integrifyhttp://www.integrify.com
Workflow Management and Automation SoftwareTue, 19 Sep 2017 20:21:26 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.2One Simple Way of Making Your Company More Innovativehttp://www.integrify.com/one-simple-way-making-company-innovative/
http://www.integrify.com/one-simple-way-making-company-innovative/#respondWed, 19 Jul 2017 14:36:21 +0000http://www.integrify.com/?p=5550Where do good business ideas come from? Do you feel like your business just doesn’t generate enough new ideas that help increase revenue, improve productivity, or release cutting edge products and services? Your business could be in a rut. But hope is not lost. Innovation stems from a change in mindset and a break from the norm. What does that really mean in practice? See how […]

]]>Where do good business ideas come from? Do you feel like your business just doesn’t generate enough new ideas that help increase revenue, improve productivity, or release cutting edge products and services? Your business could be in a rut. But hope is not lost. Innovation stems from a change in mindset and a break from the norm. What does that really mean in practice? See how this works in the real world at real companies, and how you might apply the principles to your own organization.

Going Off the Rails

Have you ever been in a meeting where people spit-fired ideas back and forth? Maybe it started off as serious and then turned silly, or maybe they became progressively less connected to company culture and mission? Whether you were one of the people joining in or the person leaning back in their chair in exasperation, it’s worth a deeper dive into the effectiveness of straying away from the normal course of business for an hour or two.

For example, the team at Groupon originally started as an organization to give the public an easier way to connect and rally around different political causes they cared about. It wasn’t until they started exploring the idea of helping people save money when they happened to stumble upon what would eventually become Groupon. Talk about a turnaround that worked out (well, at least at first.) And this, of course, becomes the crux of the issue: wild brainstorming, side projects, and outside research aren’t complete wastes of time — but only when done right and in moderation. So how do you figure out where to draw the line?

Moderately Helpful

The most famous example that may come to mind when it comes to a concrete answer is Google’s famous 20% concept. The idea is that Google employees take 20% of their working hours and devote it to whatever they feel would make the company better and more profitable. If that sounds vague, it’s because it is vague. Employees do need to have sound justification for their ideas (which means they can leave their thrice rejected screenplay at the door.)

Beyond the obvious red flags though, Google gave employees a lot of leeway when it came to their projects. Upper management at Google started pursuing the development and implementation of these ideas at the point they showed demonstrable progress. You may recognize some of their achievements because they came in the form of features like Gmail and AdSense.

Scaling Down

Google may have the resources and the reputation to implement the 20% rule so all their geniuses can sit around being geniuses, but what about your company? Maybe it doesn’t seem like there’s any time to devote to something else, let alone an hour and a half a day or more. This is a good time for a manager to start adopting this rule for their own team.

There are some people who are so routine-focused that any type of demand to be creative will only leave them feeling confused, inadequate or annoyed. You also don’t have to use 20% as a hard and fast rule. For example, a small start-up called Server Density allowed their team one week of every six to focus on other endeavors. Developers began working on some of the smaller customer complaints that they never seemed to have the time to address before, only to stumble upon ways to streamline and simplify how they delivered data to their clients.

Implementation

It takes a certain amount of maturity from the team to understand that whatever time they devote to side projects may be far more challenging than anything they’re currently doing. You may want to only introduce the rule to certain departments or positions, and then see where it leads. LinkedIn famously started with hack days, where they would see how fast developers could write code until those hack days blossomed into the InCubator.

In the InCubator, employees had a full 90 days to work on whatever they wanted. However, LinkedIn didn’t just check in with employees after 90 days hoping for a miracle. They checked in with them at regular intervals to determine the consistency and the relevancy of the work they were doing. Those who have implemented this plan recommend prompting employees before they pick a goal by reminding them of the major problems the company faces (whether abstract or tangible.)

Those who have implemented this plan recommend prompting employees before they pick a goal by reminding them of the major problems the company faces (whether abstract or tangible.)

Far from stifling their own creativity, you’re simply encouraging employees to investigate more into a problem and potentially come up with solutions. When it comes to your company’s results, you’re looking for actionable items from the team that can be delegated to become a full-scale project. If employees are pitching pie-in-the-sky ideas only, then it may be time to reassess the program.

The Reality

No one, not even Google, is claiming that this idea is absolutely necessary for driving innovation. In fact, Google’s HR director Laszlo Bock commented that the 20% rule has fallen somewhat to the wayside. The rule is not enforced by upper management, nor is it touted as the only way to break barriers. In practice, this work may only account for 5% of an employee’s time, or it may only be done during an employee’s free time, which can lead to burn-out pretty quickly for employees.

But the real value of trying this method may be wrapped up in the mindset of the program. In this case, when a company actively places importance on new ideas and of pushing boundaries rather than just talking about it, it sends a powerful message to employees that they’re not just there to be a cog in the machine. Companies who have tried this say that it helps shape their employees’ approach to problems, so they can be an active participant in the future of the company.

]]>http://www.integrify.com/one-simple-way-making-company-innovative/feed/0Selling Your Workflow Automation Ideas Internallyhttp://www.integrify.com/selling-workflow-automation-ideas-internally/
http://www.integrify.com/selling-workflow-automation-ideas-internally/#respondMon, 17 Jul 2017 16:33:45 +0000http://www.integrify.com/?p=5540For more selling the idea of ROI for your workflow automation project, download our free Workflow ROI Guide. Managers and business analysts frequently have great ideas for implementing change in their organizations, however, they often struggle with how to obtain upper-level buy-in for their workflow automation ideas. Implementing a software solution that will automate business processes, creating efficiencies and improving productivity and effectiveness is a […]

Managers and business analysts frequently have great ideas for implementing change in their organizations, however, they often struggle with how to obtain upper-level buy-in for their workflow automation ideas. Implementing a software solution that will automate business processes, creating efficiencies and improving productivity and effectiveness is a win for almost any organization. However, getting senior leadership buy-in can be difficult when executives don’t understand the need for, or benefits of, such a solution, instead only seeing a dollar figure.

If you want to implement change, you may be hesitant to speak up for fear of being dismissed, so you may raise an idea in a conceptual form, rather than at a strategic level. Ironically, senior leaders may dismiss a vague idea out of hand because they cannot connect the dots between the idea of the solution itself and how it will actually add value to the company.

In this article, we’ll present some of the most common questions we encounter from analysts and managers who need some help convincing higher-ups that change is actually good. We’ll also present suggestions on how to overcome some common challenges that can come with the process.

How do I sell my ideas up the chain of command?

How successful you are at selling your ideas to your organization’s senior leaders will depend on a number of factors, including the company’s culture, how the topic is broached and explored, whether the executives you’re dealing with have a personal stake in making a change, etc.

To engage decision-makers, you’ll need to clearly identify that there is a problem today and that your proposed solution can address it. Be prepared to show – and defend – how the business would benefit by implementing a new tool. What does the business stand to gain? While your persuasive arguments should focus on the positives, it can also be helpful to bring up the potential downside of not adopting the new system or implementing your new ideas. This may involve opportunity cost, loss of competitive advantage, regulatory risks, etc. To be successful, you need to do more than describing how wonderful the solution you are proposing is; you need to show how it will benefit your organization.

How do I build consensus?

If you only need up-line approval from one person in your organization, consider yourself lucky. In most companies, there will be a team of decision-makers, and you’ll need to build consensus among them to get approval for your idea. However, your chances of success will likely also go up if you’re able to successfully build consensus at the middle-management level too.

Identifying and getting the support of allies in other parts of your organization can help demonstrate the wider appeal of implementing your idea. Maybe that’s a series of 1:1 meetings with key people outside of your department; maybe it’s an internal marketing campaign of sorts, sharing information with them piece by piece.

However, you choose to engage and persuade allies, doing so can increase your chances of success. When you have a larger pool of people who can advocate for why your idea makes sense and can benefit the company, you are more likely to gain support at the upper levels of the firm.

How do I approach the topic of Return on Investment for my idea?

When your idea or recommendation comes with what higher-ups might view as a sizable price tag out of context, it’s up to you to provide that context, to help them see the value in what you’re proposing. If multiple departments or divisions in your organization could benefit from the change, sharing that information can help you build needed consensus.

Return on investment from a software solution generally won’t necessarily be obvious or easy to quantify, but it’s there all the same. Highlight how the system’s automated processes can eliminate time-consuming manual work today, and how workflows will improve productivity and efficiency for users.

There is also an enormous financial benefit to be gained by having a system in place that removes much of the potential for errors, delays, and noncompliance. In most cases, there are real costs associated with these issues. For instance:

What is the cost of a mistake on a vendor agreement?

What is the cost of a three-week delay for an approval?

What is the cost of violating a regulatory requirement?

When you incorporate this information into your pitch, you’re more likely to get the green light to proceed.

What are some mistakes to avoid when selling my ideas?

First, put some thought into how you’re going to suggest a change. While you may be eager to take action, you may be more successful when you tailor your pitch. If you were applying for a new job, you’d tailor your cover letter, resume and interview responses based on what you know about the company, right? Take the same approach when pitching ideas up-stream. Familiarize yourself with your audience beforehand, and use what you learn to make your pitch relevant to them.

Understand organizational norms. Knowing whether you should prepare and make a formal presentation complete with slides and handouts, or whether key stakeholders prefer a more informal approach, can help you put your best foot forward.

Finally, be aware of – and temper – your own emotional responses when pitching ideas, so you don’t come across as a complainer. It’s OK to be passionate about your idea, but you don’t want to come across as anxious. You should also be sensitive to situations where an executive may feel defensive. For example, if you’re proposing a new system to replace one that one of the executives you’re pitching to was personally responsible for implementing, you’ll need to be careful. Emphasizing why the proposed new system better meets the organization’s needs would likely be a better approach than making disparaging remarks about the existing system.

Integrify can Help

At Integrify, we understand the potential challenges you may face when trying to get up-line approval to implement a new system. Our automated solutions have helped many customers in a wide array of industries realize their ideas for creating organizational efficiencies, increasing productivity, and lowering risk.

For more tips on helping to sell your ideas to your company’s senior leaders, contact us online today, or call (888) 536-9629.

]]>http://www.integrify.com/selling-workflow-automation-ideas-internally/feed/0Is it Time to Overhaul Your Processes?http://www.integrify.com/is-it-time-to-overhaul-your-processes/
http://www.integrify.com/is-it-time-to-overhaul-your-processes/#respondFri, 14 Jul 2017 17:30:11 +0000http://www.integrify.com/?p=5533You may be surprised to learn that the answer is almost always “Yes!” Here are just a few of the reasons why you should review your business processes regularly and look for opportunities to improve them. Somewhere within your business, there are people who have created an entrenched status quo and like the low-stress approach of doing things the way they have always been done. […]

]]>You may be surprised to learn that the answer is almost always “Yes!” Here are just a few of the reasons why you should review your business processes regularly and look for opportunities to improve them.

Somewhere within your business, there are people who have created an entrenched status quo and like the low-stress approach of doing things the way they have always been done. They may be hoarding knowledge and responsibilities because it makes them indispensable to the company.

Your competition may be eating away at your customer base because your current processes are too error-prone and costly.

Your business is enjoying remarkable growth right now, but your profits are falling.

The good news is that a process overhaul can be done gradually by working through a prioritized list of processes. It doesn’t require a horde of expensive consultants, a burdensome methodology, or wildly expensive new software.

How Often is Process Review Needed?

When you are in the midst of the situations described above, there is no need to wait for the next semi-annual or annual process review but you should aim for a minimum of putting each business process under the business process improvement microscope at least once a year. Organizations with internal process analysts often undertake a more frequent review and touch each process semi-annually.

How Can I tell Which Processes Need to Change?

We hinted at the signs earlier in this post, but here is a more complete summary:

Employee cubicles are cluttered with tacked up emails and massive binders with the latest rules, prices, and approval limits.

You’ve seen these signs, and asked your direct reports to explain why this is happening, only to be left waiting for weeks while they meet, argue, finger-point and “crunch the numbers” to determine the root cause of the problem.

How Should Changes be Made?

You may have tried to swoop in and take corrective action in the past, only to find that the changes don’t stick. You need to stop trying to foster business process change by the following methods:

Emailing new policy and rules and expecting everyone to remember them. This puts compliance at the mercy of human memory (which erodes under stress) and makes it impossible for new employees to learn how to do their jobs.

Paper documentation: Useful for proof of compliance, but reliance on written documentation alone will make your employees less efficient.

Adding additional audit and accountability responsibility to middle management job roles: This only puts a Band-Aid on an inefficient process, it does not address the underlying problems. Furthermore, oversight tends to slip during periods of high growth.

You can move forward even without an enterprise-wide process review. Here is a quick start list of action steps:

Pick a problematic process.

Gather process stakeholders and create a process diagram that shows the steps and handoffs.

Step back and hone in on any handoffs that don’t add real value, take too long to complete, cause too many errors, or take place on paper or in spreadsheets.

Envision what the process would look like if you could automate those problem areas.

Specify the key performance indicators (KPIs) you will need to watch in order to verify that the process is improving. It’s OK if you don’t have any insight into these KPIs in your current process. Establish metrics for what KPI you want to reach at specific points in time. (even automated changes take some time to take effect!)

More details about BPM in general and specific guides for particular departments can be found here.

The best way to enforce change quickly is to automate your new workflows. Increased automation is the cornerstone of successful process improvement, and Integrify puts powerful automation capability within the reach of single departments or smaller businesses. Look for a workflow solution that is fast to implement, easy to learn and administer, and configurable without excessive reliance on the IT department. The right workflow tool allows you to:

Bridge any process inefficiencies that span the gap between your major software systems.

Speed up process flows by alerting the user responsible for the next step in the process.

Automate all those new policies, rules, transaction codes and price lists that used to be tacked up on cubicle walls and stored in binders.

Allow employees to exchange information and respond within an auditable system instead of meetings, calls, emails, or deskside chats.

Some Workflow Automation Success Stories

Here are two examples of processes that benefited from optimization and automation:

A rapidly growing food manufacturer was gobbling up market share because of its innovative product development team. An ambitious schedule rolled out new flavors quarterly, but the rollouts were chaotic. Several steps in the new product release had long lead times (for example: nutritional labeling, marketing campaigns, training the sales team, sourcing suppliers and purchasing new ingredients). No one was able to provide an answer to the critical question, “Will we hit our target date?”

A perceptive project manager sketched out an ideal process flow that spanned many departments and external stakeholders. Automation then brought the chaos level down by alerting the appropriate parties before handoffs and providing a dashboard so that everyone knew where the new products were in the pipeline.

A service organization was triple checking customer invoices before mailing them out each month in an effort to stem the growing number of customer complaints and invoice write-downs. The root cause of the issue was lax processes around the maintenance of price lists, sales quotes, and discount approvals.

After designing new processes that incorporated clear business rules, the workflow and business rules were automated. The CFO was pleased that he was able to track progress against his key metrics of Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and the Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI). As the business grew, management noticed that they did not have to add customer service reps as quickly, because the volume of customer complaints was also declining.

Seize the Opportunity

Look around your own business or department. Where are you seeing errors and rework? What workflows are taking too long to complete? Where are people forgetting the rules? Why is your entire staff in meetings all day, every day? You have plenty of opportunities to improve and further automate your business operations – you always can do better. Start addressing your biggest problems today, and make sure you review all your business processes on a regular schedule.

Ready to Automate?

Integrify’s workflow automation platform provides a powerful and intuitive way to build complex business process workflows, forms, and portals. Get a free demo of Integrify and see for yourself how easy it is to take all your process design work and build real-world, automated workflows.

]]>http://www.integrify.com/is-it-time-to-overhaul-your-processes/feed/0Improve Corporate Governance With BPMhttp://www.integrify.com/improve-corporate-governance-bpm/
http://www.integrify.com/improve-corporate-governance-bpm/#respondWed, 28 Jun 2017 19:59:28 +0000http://www.integrify.com/?p=5504What is corporate governance, really? Governance has been a popular word in the business world for quite a few years, although there are many published definitions of the term. Let’s be clear: governance has been required when humans work together toward a common goal. In the commonly accepted business parlance, corporate governance is defined as: “Establishment of policies, and continuous monitoring of their proper implementation, by […]

Governance has been a popular word in the business world for quite a few years, although there are many published definitions of the term. Let’s be clear: governance has been required when humans work together toward a common goal.

“Establishment of policies, and continuous monitoring of their proper implementation, by the members of the governing body of an organization. It includes the mechanisms required to balance the powers of the members (with the associated accountability), and their primary duty of enhancing the prosperity and viability of the organization.”

In small, young organizations, governance begins informally and provides the answers to Who? What? Where? When? and How? As organizations grow, mature, and interact more broadly with external parties, governance needs grow and the rules and processes that comprise the governance framework multiply. Some businesses need to provide proof of compliance to financial auditors and certification authorities.

Governance Requires Documentation and Policing

In the corporate setting, governance pervades the organization at many levels:

The corporate officers and board of directors abide by the corporate by-laws (rules), which can only be amended by a documented formal process.

Corporate executives further define operational processes and rules for accountability, fairness, regulatory compliance, and transparency as well as the rules and processes for resolving disputes and conflicts between all the internal and external stakeholders.

In a similar fashion, departmental managers may also define governance processes and rules for internal departmental functions.

Individual projects often contain governance rules and processes that apply to the responsibilities of project team members.

Clearly, effective governance at all of these levels requires the highest levels of effective business process management (BPM) – BPM is all about processes and rules. Implementing governance of a business, department, information, or a project requires:

Processes with clearly defined steps, roles, and handoffs

Business rules about how and when those processes are to be performed

Crisply defined roles and responsibilities

Procedures for handling exception and crisis situations

Clear processes for amending the governance processes, rules and documentation

Governance requires that processes and rules are created, updated, and promulgated at many levels. Historically, these processes and rules created a body of written documentation and a flurry of change notices that grew year by year and created a huge set of responsibilities for policing compliance. Policing becomes a dispersed audit function with its own set of business rules for:

Approval authorities for various transactions and procedures

Reporting and notification

Timing of formal, periodic audits

The first line of responsibility for policing governance largely lands on middle managers who spend significant amounts of time training employees on governance procedures, auditing employee work for governance lapses, reporting on compliance with governance policies and providing notification and corrective action when there is a failure in governance. A second layer of governance responsibility resides in the internal audit department. Large organizations have added the role of Corporate Risk Officer (CRO) who is responsible for ongoing assessment of internal and external risks that may create the need for changes to corporate governance rules and processes.

We can reach several conclusions about the role of governance in any organization:

It is vital to the viability and profitability of a business.

Corporate governance is dispersed through many operating departments.

It is not a static framework – changes to governance rules and processes must be rolled out quickly to retain business agility.

Effective policing may require significant management overhead

Lapses in governance can have catastrophic effects on customer retention, brand strength, and revenues and they can lead to costly fines and legal fees.

Automated BPM Improves Governance

Given these conclusions, it’s no surprise that many organizations now recognize the significant role that automated BPM can play in strengthening governance, and they include improved governance in their business cases for adopting a BPM solution. BPM solutions provide the following governance benefits:

Only those users who have authority perform steps in governance processes.

Software enforces the business rules, instead of human action. Business rules reduce the need for policing and auditing compliance.

Every step in a governance process is stamped with the date, time and the id of the user who performed that step. This information can be extracted to identify the root cause of any lapse in a governance process.

Compliance reporting is provided in real time via dashboards, eliminating the need for manually compiling reports.

When governance processes and rules need to change (as they must, due to changing internal and external risks), the changes can be quickly implemented and enforced. Compliance no longer depends on employees’ memory and willingness to abide by new requirements.

Automation frees up middle and executive management time for leading, mentoring, and strategic planning and growing the business.

Managers can drill down through the BPM interface to monitor compliance even when they are out of the office.

Secondary benefits are also significant:

Automation of governance processes starts with an analysis phase that serves as an opportunity to improve those processes, making them more efficient.

As you try to move your business toward tighter governance in any area, dashboards with meaningful KPIs give you real-time information on how compliant you are, allowing you to be more proactive about intervening in lagging departments.

The right BPM solution for your governance needs can also be used to improve the speed and accuracy of all other transactional processes in your business. There is no need to purchase, install, learn, and administer more than one system.

External audits and certification reviews are more efficient and less costly because auditors can easily see who, what, where, when and how governed processes are performed.

Automated Governance Process Management is Within Reach

Integrify’s automated workflow solution provides all businesses with a cost-effective, quick-to-implement, easy to reconfigure governance process management framework that was previously only available to larger organizations. If you are considering automated workflow for your business or department, be sure to include corporate governance benefits in your business case.

]]>http://www.integrify.com/improve-corporate-governance-bpm/feed/0Does This Really Have to Be a Meeting?http://www.integrify.com/does-this-really-have-to-be-a-meeting/
http://www.integrify.com/does-this-really-have-to-be-a-meeting/#respondMon, 26 Jun 2017 19:08:14 +0000http://www.integrify.com/?p=5476There’s little doubt meetings are a double-edged sword for most people in business. Sometimes they smooth out communication gaps, but other times they seem to drain people’s will to live. In fact, excessive meetings are usually the culprit behind those 70-hour work weeks. A full 70% of employees state they don’t even think meetings help them get work done. So before you block off the time for […]

]]>There’s little doubt meetings are a double-edged sword for most people in business. Sometimes they smooth out communication gaps, but other times they seem to drain people’s will to live. In fact, excessive meetings are usually the culprit behind those 70-hour work weeks. A full 70% of employees state they don’t even think meetings help them get work done. So before you block off the time for that conference room, consider the following.

From the Mouths of Executives

It’s often the executives of major companies who come down hardest on meetings. Al Pittampalli from Ernst & Young wrote a whole book about how meetings create a hive mind that practically guarantees nothing gets done, and how they often skew the importance of actual productivity. Since business isn’t an exact science, companies can get trapped in bad patterns quickly when it comes to meetings. Pittampalli stresses the importance of using meetings as an opportunity to connect with people to get one particular task done — and that task should not be making major decisions. Before you schedule or attend a meeting, ask yourself the following questions.

Calling Meetings

Have You Considered Every Angle?

Before calling everyone together, you should have thought through the scope, milestones, and workflow of the problem in front of you. Much of the time, meetings are scheduled to move a project forward, but they can limit progress by complicating the matter. Taking an extra hour or two to consider the moving parts helps you boil down the problem, so you can present it in such a way that saves everyone’s time (and brain power.) The last thing you want to do is stunt creativity or interrupt people’s thoughts with mind-numbing information. In doing so, you may even decide that you don’t need anyone else’s input to make a final decision.

If you don’t actually need to see someone face-to-face, then consider sending an email, making a quick phone call, or sending out a group chat message.

Do You Need to See Someone Face-to-Face?

This question doesn’t discount the importance of working relationships. We all know how dangerous it is to rely on technology to communicate rather than taking the time to interact with someone. But if you don’t treat people’s time with a profound amount of respect, they won’t do the same for you. Bottom line: If you don’t need to see someone face-to-face, then consider sending an email, making a quick phone call, or sending out a group chat message.

Is the Meeting Likely to Get Off Track?

If you’re calling people together for a vague goal, you can’t be upset if the conversation starts to get discombobulated. While some people look at these brainstorming sessions as helpful for the company, most of the time they just twist people’s brains in circles. For creative types, this can end up sparking a new idea that propels the business forward. However, for those who just want to tackle their to-do list, they’re not going to appreciate being called into a meeting that ends up straying into topics far outside the realm of routine business matters. Try to imagine how the meeting will go and how you think all the participants will react to spending the time to come to your meeting. Will they either find or provide value? If not, pare down the conference list to value adders or receivers.

Is It Easy to Come Up with an Agenda?

Meetings that need to happen should practically write their own agenda. The meeting leader should be there to cover select, straightforward points. Once it’s over, employees should understand the updates and their role in the company moving forward. This is why experts caution against bringing in a team to make major decisions for the company. The more you open the floor for opinions (and the more opinions you get), the more likely it is that the agenda will fly out the window.

Attending Meetings

Instead of just blindly hitting accept to every invite you receive for a meeting, you should consider whether or not you should commit your time. There are questions you need to ask yourself before you leave your desk.

What Do I Get Out of This?

Meetings don’t have to be inherently interesting or fun to be productive, so that’s not how you should evaluate what you’re getting out of the meeting. However, if you’re always hearing the same information repeated over and over again, it likely means you can skip the meeting without repercussion. Maybe only one small slice of the meeting even involves you, with the rest of it feeling superfluous. And of course, the ultimate sign you’re getting nothing out of the meeting: you’re doing other work while people are talking. Question why you’re working on other business in regular meetings. Is it because you’re overwhelmed with work or is this simply not a good use of your time? Discuss it with the meeting organizer afterward.

And of course, the ultimate sign you’re getting nothing out of the meeting: you’re doing other work while people are talking.

Will People Be Prepared?

Consider whether or not people will be prepared when they step into the meeting. For the most part, this means asking whether or not the person who called the meeting will be prepared. It’s the leader’s job to keep everyone on track and ensure they’re only inviting people who will show up with something to say. If you’ve noticed the meeting leader relies on others to dictate where the meeting heads, then you don’t need that kind of distraction in your day.

The Other Side

Saying no to a meeting can be difficult in small businesses where there are only a few people, as your refusal is likely to single you out and potentially make you seem difficult. To some degree, time-wasting meetings are a symptom of a poor company culture is, of course, going to be difficult to change. Organizations should consider the opportunity cost of meetings, that is, what more valuable work could be getting done instead of attending meetings? No matter how tricky it is to broach the subject though, your superiors should be open to hearing about how excessive meetings hinder your productivity.

The Bottom Line

Meetings can be a good way to get everyone on the same page, but they often waste the most valuable resource in a company. If too many meetings are what’s stopping you from having a better work-life balance, then it’s time to come up with a better workflow. To save your productivity (and sanity), stop the madness by refusing to call or attend another pointless get-together.

]]>http://www.integrify.com/does-this-really-have-to-be-a-meeting/feed/0Why You Need a Dedicated Approval Management Systemhttp://www.integrify.com/need-dedicated-approval-management-system/
http://www.integrify.com/need-dedicated-approval-management-system/#respondFri, 23 Jun 2017 19:44:09 +0000http://www.integrify.com/?p=5463With a dedicated approval management system as part of your technology stack, you can regain hours of lost time every week while providing better visibility into every approval process. With a standalone (but integrated) approval management system rather than a use case-specific tool (for instance contract approvals, marketing collateral approvals, etc.), an organization is free to build highly-specific and robust approval processes for any department […]

]]>With a dedicated approval management system as part of your technology stack, you can regain hours of lost time every week while providing better visibility into every approval process. With a standalone (but integrated) approval management system rather than a use case-specific tool (for instance contract approvals, marketing collateral approvals, etc.), an organization is free to build highly-specific and robust approval processes for any department in the organization.

Using email and spreadsheets seems like a reasonable way to handle approvals, largely because it’s free, but how much time is being wasted managing emails and documents? How many approvals get lost in the shuffle? Does anyone know the status of an approval without sending even more emails? That’s no way to work.

There are true, cost-saving benefits provided by approval management systems. Here are a few:

Dedicated Approval Management System Benefits

Anyone with access can log into a self-service request portal to make approval requests 24X7.

Requesters, approvers, and managers can track the progress of every approval request.

Approvers can easily review and approve requests online or by clicking on an email link.

Administrators can define, create and adjust approval workflows or steps as needed.

Administrators can set up alternate approvers to cover for vacations, illness, and travel.

Administrators can build user-friendly forms with logic and calculations.

Managers can track departmental performance against metrics and identify bottlenecks.

Auditors have a complete record of who, what, when, where and why approvals were made.

]]>http://www.integrify.com/need-dedicated-approval-management-system/feed/0Reducing Barriers to Employee Engagement and Productivityhttp://www.integrify.com/reducing-barriers-employee-engagement-productivity/
http://www.integrify.com/reducing-barriers-employee-engagement-productivity/#commentsWed, 14 Jun 2017 17:13:33 +0000http://www.integrify.com/?p=5411A recent article at SHRM.org discussed several ways to increase employee engagement in an organization as well as the subsequent benefits. I took note of the first item on their list, which was “providing the right tools,” referring to all the tools and business process infrastructure employees use to get their work done. As per Don MacPherson, a partner at Aon, notes in the article, […]

]]>A recent article at SHRM.org discussed several ways to increase employee engagement in an organization as well as the subsequent benefits. I took note of the first item on their list, which was “providing the right tools,” referring to all the tools and business process infrastructure employees use to get their work done.

As per Don MacPherson, a partner at Aon, notes in the article, “Particularly in large organizations, there are barriers to employees getting things done,” he says.”It has an effect on employee engagement.”

We see these barriers all the time when we begin working with clients on automating their processes. The barriers may include:

Outdated processes

Improper technology

Resistance to change

These barriers prevent employees from becoming engaged with their work and their coworkers largely because so much time is spent in rote work, conflict, and exception handling instead of meaningful, value-adding work.

Outdated Processes

When business processes are first developed, either organically or through a formal process design project, the goal is to streamline and standardize for the present. This includes the people, roles, organizational structure, etc. Basically, it’s saying “based on what we have now, how should the process work?”

Unfortunately, over time things change. People leave, departments shift, roles are redefined and goals change. Unless the process morphs to meet these changes it becomes outdated and out of sync. However, in the absence of a better process, it endures.

The best way to handle outdated processes is by going through a business process management project. This is a formal way of documenting, analyzing and optimizing your processes either across the organization or across your department. In the past, BPM usually meant a long, involved project that attempted to cover all the processes in an enterprise. However, today many companies opt for a less traditional, more nimble approach that takes on smaller parts of the organization, sometimes concentrating on a handful of processes at a time.

Improper Technology

At Integrify, we always say that our biggest competitor is “email and spreadsheets.” Inefficient methods like creating Excel templates and emailing attachments around the company persist because people are familiar with them and they’re readily available. However, that doesn’t make them the best tools for the job—not by a longshot.

Other tools like ERP, CRM and document management solutions are also used (or attempted to be used) to manage business processes but often they fall short of being truly efficient workflow tools. This is understandable since they were never built for the purpose of managing complex processes, building request forms, automating business rules, etc.

The best tool for the job, in this case, is a purpose-built workflow tool, whether it’s a full-fledged BPM suite, a request management system or workflow software. These tools provide specific features that help you design automated processes, whether complex or simple, that can stand alone or connect to other systems. Features include visual process designers, form builders, self-service portals, reports/metrics and more.

Resistance to change

As I mentioned earlier, processes are usually built for the now, rather than the future. In some cases, a years-old process may still be entirely appropriate for the business and there truly is no better way. However, when there is a better way it’s sometimes batted back for no other reason than comfort and a need to avoid change.

This is part of human nature and certainly, reams have been written on the subject of change management. In my experience, pushing needed changes comes down to a few simple concepts.

People will accept change when it’s in their best interest to do so. When their best interest marries with the organization’s best interest great things happen. For instance, when an employee is freed from tiresome, rote work they can focus on loftier goals that bring greater value to the organization. When an automated process improves accuracy and accountability, employees take more pride in their work and feel more engaged.

Removing the barriers that stunt employee engagement and satisfaction can have a transformative effect on an organization and often it’s simply a matter of finding and implementing the right tools for the job.

]]>http://www.integrify.com/reducing-barriers-employee-engagement-productivity/feed/2What Is a “Low Code Development Platform” for Workflow Management?http://www.integrify.com/low-code-development-platform-workflow-management/
http://www.integrify.com/low-code-development-platform-workflow-management/#respondThu, 01 Jun 2017 14:05:50 +0000http://www.integrify.com/?p=5377Low Code Development for Workflows “Low Code Development” refers to visual, simplified methods for creating applications that, unlike in the past, don’t require highly-trained developers manually writing code to build and deploy. The idea is to speed development of business-level applications via “citizen builders” who are familiar with the business processes but don’t necessarily have the training to code applications. By shortening the development cycle […]

“Low Code Development” refers to visual, simplified methods for creating applications that, unlike in the past, don’t require highly-trained developers manually writing code to build and deploy. The idea is to speed development of business-level applications via “citizen builders” who are familiar with the business processes but don’t necessarily have the training to code applications. By shortening the development cycle of applications, business goals can be achieved more quickly, generating a faster return and meeting internal and customer needs more quickly.

An Evolving Market

The low-code development platform market is still evolving and current solutions allow business users with some level of technical aptitude to develop fairly straightforward applications like approvals and data collection, many platforms still require some level of true development skill. There also remains skepticism from IT leaders regarding the viability of low code applications for critical, customer-facing business applications produced by business users, feeling they may lack the UX, UI and security understanding to be successful.

While there remain obstacles for true enterprise application development by business users, there is an area that low-code platforms have been successful—workflow management. Tools that focus heavily on building internal workflow applications, like employee requests, have been successfully used for several years. Rather than attempting to be a panacea for all possible application needs, low code workflow platforms provide an easy-to-use visual environment for building request-focused applications that include four major components:

Forms

Most processes begin with a user taking an action, usually completing a form. Low code workflow platforms include a form designer that allows administrators to quickly create forms that are simple (e.g., an IT support request) or complex (e.g., a capital expenditure request). Form designers are drag and drop, allowing for custom layouts to simulate existing forms that could currently be on paper or in Excel documents. Rendered forms are mobile-friendly for use in the field if needed. Form logic allows for hiding fields, pre-populating fields, dynamically displaying objects, etc. All of this is available with low code development out of the box.

A visual form designer allows for complex forms to be built quickly with no code.

Processes

Once a form is completed, it kicks off a process. Again, the process could be simple or complex, but thanks to a visual display of all process tasks, building out the steps is much easier. “Tasks” are both human and automated and can include anything from someone giving an approval to a database push. Tasks are connected together in the order dictated by the business process, either sequentially or in parallel. Because business users are familiar with the overall process, the workflow can be built quickly and iterated over time as needs change or improvements are made. Some training is required for business users, but it primarily involves getting comfortable with the various features and options, rather than learning a new language.

Building a process with a low code platform involves dragging, dropping and connecting tasks.

Self-Service Portal

End users need a central place to launch and track processes so a customizable portal is a key part of the platform. The portal is customized for the organization (branding, naming, etc.) and contains all the processes that an end-user has access to. For instance, all employees might be able to launch HR requests, but only managers have access to finance requests. In other cases, an outside vendor might have access only to specific processes. Once processes start, end users can track progress from the portal so they have full visibility.

Once processes start, end users can track progress from the portal so they have full visibility. That is if administrators decide to provide it. In some situations (for instance with vendors) administrators may want to limit the visibility of where something is in the process.

In this example, a portal has been created for Marketing requests, allowing employees to quickly request various items or support.

Reporting

It’s one thing to have a process automated, it’s another thing to ensure it’s optimized. Reporting tools and dashboards allow administrators and executives to view performance metrics and identify any issues with a process, for instance, bottlenecks. Being able to create Key Performance Indicators for any part of any process allows complete visibility at a glance.

In addition, complete audit trail history helps meet any compliance requirements and aids in any future investigations of who did what and when.

Using a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) dashboard, performance metrics are available at a glance.

But is This a Truly a Low Code Development Platform?

To truly be considered a low code platform, all these components must be available to business users without having to add javascript or any other code. Our platform achieves this, while still allowing power users to use code at any point if desired. In most cases, it’s unnecessary to venture far from the out-of-the-box functionality to achieve your business goals. Integrify has been designed from the ground up to be flexible, scalable and approachable by business users and IT alike.

]]>http://www.integrify.com/low-code-development-platform-workflow-management/feed/0Real World Productivity Tips for Telecommutershttp://www.integrify.com/real-world-productivity-tips-telecommuters/
http://www.integrify.com/real-world-productivity-tips-telecommuters/#commentsMon, 22 May 2017 14:47:02 +0000http://www.integrify.com/?p=5356If you’re one of the 23% of workers who does some type of remote work, you probably already have opinions about what it means to have a home office. While there’s little doubt the flexibility of the role will inspire jealousy in others, it’s not necessarily a dream come true. Telecommuting has a lot of perks, but it can also feel incredibly isolating. Without the external pressure to finish tasks […]

]]>If you’re one of the 23% of workers who does some type of remote work, you probably already have opinions about what it means to have a home office. While there’s little doubt the flexibility of the role will inspire jealousy in others, it’s not necessarily a dream come true. Telecommuting has a lot of perks, but it can also feel incredibly isolating. Without the external pressure to finish tasks and maintain a schedule, things can fall apart pretty quickly. Follow these tips as a way to tighten up your day and get more done.

Real-World Statistics

Before you learn about how to get better at working from home, you should have some context about its role in business as a whole. Around 80% of remote workers report they’re more productive when they’re not in the office, and on average, do about 13% more work every day than employees in the office. Rather than feeling less invested in the company, 87% feel more connected to their work. This is all great news, but that doesn’t mean it’s a perfect system. Only 67% of managers say their employees are as productive when working from home. So still pretty good, but there’s a bit of a disconnect there (whether perceived or not.)

Getting everything done (correctly and on time) is your first priority — not ensuring you take a short break every day at 10 a.m.

Stop Focusing on the Schedule

Having a schedule is important, there’s no doubt about that. Some creative types thrive on erratic hours, but you’re likely not one of those people. The real trick though is to ensure you can work within your limits. Getting everything done (correctly and on time) is your first priority — not ensuring you take a short break every day at 10 a.m. Eventually, your body will let you know how and when it wants to operate.

The Power of Habit

Charles Duhigg, the author of The Power of Habit, did an analysis about high- and low-performers in a particular sales office. He found the top performer was absolutely meticulous about his routine. Not only would he get everything he needed ready at night, but he did things like programming his coffee maker to have a steaming cup ready as soon as he awoke. These types of positive actions program your brain to be more productive, particularly when you work from home. The most amazing takeaway from this tip is that you don’t have to transform your whole routine (and you shouldn’t even try.) Focus on one pattern of behavior you want to change, like hitting the snooze button, and target it until you’ve effectively corrected the behavior. Also, throw out the whole 30-day rule to enforce a habit, you change at your own pace.

Experiment and Forgive

If you find yourself idly wandering around the house or clicking around online when you hit a difficult problem, you may want to consider trying something new. Happiness is typically measured by small, reachable goals, and too many failures can take your productivity from bad to worse. Focus on something you find fulfilling to clear out the cobwebs, and then get back to work. Also, you’ll need to learn to forgive yourself when you make mistakes during this process. There is often no one to give you feedback when you work at home, and you’re likely your own worst critic. If you’ve just spent an hour looking at vacation rentals when you should have been processing reports, you can’t let that downward spiral of shame stand in the way of getting back on track.

If you find yourself idly wandering around the house or clicking around online when you hit a difficult problem, you may want to consider trying something new.

Get Some Social Interaction

Too much alone time is horrible for people, regardless of how frustrating it can be to deal with people sometimes. Remote workers benefit from getting out whenever and however they can. Most coffee shops will have some combination of electric outlets and Wi-Fi, so make use of the portability to get more done. If you need to stay in your home office, at least try to get out for lunch. No matter how trivial it may seem, even brief encounters with restaurant employees can provide some relief to being alone all day.

Don’t Live and Die with Your Deadlines

It’s so tempting to wait until the last minute when you work from home — after all, you can work all night if you really wanted and co-workers won’t be around to judge (we can’t speak for your family.) Unless you have specific deliverables to hit throughout the day, you may find yourself putting certain things off. But acting on the same instincts as a college kid won’t make you a better professional. This may be a good time to rely on another co-worker to check in with throughout the day or to impose strict rules on yourself about milestones and rewards. For example, you’ll only let yourself have a treat when you’ve hit the halfway point for a project.

Do More With Less

Working more hours doesn’t necessarily translate to better work. While work ethic is extremely important when it comes to being productive from home, that doesn’t mean pushing through those last few hours is actually doing you any good. Your brain isn’t equipped to be pushed past a certain brink, and it’s not worth forcing it. Instead of concentrating on how many hours you’ve worked, concentrate on the quality of work you’ve done. If you get inspired at 8 p.m., then jump back online and start cranking things out. A schedule with zero flexibility is only likely to imprison your productivity.

Use the Right Tools

If software is slow or inefficient, you’ll find yourself dreading certain tasks when you’re working from home. You may even try to find solutions that allow you to avoid using the proper protocol (e.g., sending an email when you should be sending a task.) The right combination of communication and automation can not only free up more time to do more, it can help you hit a groove you might not have even realized was possible. Even the most productive employees out there are always looking for that next subtle edge, and part of that edge is having the right tools. Check out tools like Trello, Slack, Google Keep and articleslikethese to get ideas for productivity tools.

Eat Better

Your eating habits will have a lot to do with how you function throughout the day, so don’t neglect them. Unfortunately, cooking for one isn’t necessarily easy (no matter how many people tell you it is.) Salads, pasta, and sandwiches are all good options, but it will be a struggle not to head to the kitchen every time you get frustrated. While it can be expensive, going out for something healthy can really improve your outlook and nutrient level — especially if you’re one of the many snackers that walk amongst us.

Pick Up the Phone

It’s easy to assume other people either already know what you’re up to or don’t need to know. But the confusion that arises from a lack of communication is often what causes managers and owners to completely outlaw the practice of working from home. Untangling communication mishaps will cut into your overall productivity, so start working on the art of the update. When anything significant happens, send an email or pick up the phone. Excessive phone calls aren’t recommended of course, but a few throughout the week encourage relationships while providing the means to explain some of the more complicated aspects of your work.

]]>http://www.integrify.com/real-world-productivity-tips-telecommuters/feed/2How to Stay Productive When Dealing with Negative Co-Workershttp://www.integrify.com/stay-productive-dealing-negative-co-workers/
http://www.integrify.com/stay-productive-dealing-negative-co-workers/#respondMon, 15 May 2017 20:03:11 +0000http://www.integrify.com/?p=5319You likely don’t need a cited study to prove negative co-workers can have a major effect on how much you get done in a day, but we’ll let you in on a small statistic anyway. An Associate Professor at Georgetown University and her colleagues found that a constantly pessimistic and negative coworker affects you up to seven times more than a co-worker who spreads nothing but good cheer. […]

]]>You likely don’t need a cited study to prove negative co-workers can have a major effect on how much you get done in a day, but we’ll let you in on a small statistic anyway. An Associate Professor at Georgetown University and her colleagues found that a constantly pessimistic and negative coworker affects you up to seven times more than a co-worker who spreads nothing but good cheer. That rough reality translates into hours worth of loss in productivity and potentially worse. See just how important attitudes are in a workplace, and what can be done to avoid falling into a trap — whether you’re a CEO, a manager, or a frustrated colleague.

Recognize the Signs

Employees affected by the negativity of their coworkers may start to feel as though they’re on an island. They’ll share less, work less, and may even complain more. They may start going through extreme measures to avoid coming into contact with the negative coworkers in their circle. Staff will worry (or even obsess) about why they’re so affected by someone else’s mood, and why they can’t tolerate their behavior. There may be many separate dynamics going on in any one office, making it harder for leadership to dissect these types of signs, but failing to recognize them will make for lower morale.

Planning Ahead

A good leader can do wonders when it comes to dealing with negative employees, and it all comes down to finding the right balance of interaction. It’s generally recommended that there should be some level of isolation for the negative employee, at least for the time being. A negative attitude is a core trait, and it’s not going to be changed by a few positive phrases or even several lectures. This doesn’t mean that the co-worker has to be set off adrift on the company’s version of an ice floe forever though. There are things that can be done to encourage trust within a workplace, but it will take time and careful thought. Changing an employee’s attitude from negative to a positive is not impossible, but it doesn’t happen overnight.

A negative attitude is a core trait, and it’s not going to be changed by a few positive phrases or even several lectures.

Divide and Conquer

Workplaces have seen success when negativity is removed almost entirely from the office. This might involve redistributing talent, limiting the number of meetings, and even letting people work from home. (As a side note, some studies show people who work from home can actually be 13% more productive than those in the office.) It’s not unusual for major companies to build separate areas for the most valued members of their team who also happen to be extremely negative. For consistently pessimistic employees who still care about their productivity levels, isolation can actually be as much of a boon for them as for the rest of their team. They may want to be left alone so they can get more done.

The Spider Effect

When a high performer is surrounded by negative attitudes, they’re 13 times more likely to leave their position than they are to be dragged down with the people around them. In a sense, this is good news in that high performers have a strong work ethic that can’t be broken, but horrible news for a company that wants to retain its talent. Happiness and negativity can spread not just between close ties in a workplace, but even by the most casual of encounters. So if a sales coworker’s hot dog was delivered without relish (when they specifically asked for relish!), you may find yourself responding to their anger all the way over in IT. When this negativity is constant and recurring, it needs to be addressed.

Be Assertive

If there’s currently no way around dealing with a negative coworker, nothing stops the spread of their attitude as much as assertion does. Negative people are generally looking for people to feed off their anger and disappointment, but they’ll stop once they know they won’t get anywhere. While politeness often calls us to participate in conversations that aren’t productive, there are ways to exit them without coming across as rude. Simply telling the negative person that you prefer to think positively about your position at the company can go a long way to affirming your own feelings about your job. Regardless of how the negative employee takes the departure, others will certainly notice it as a clear attempt at setting boundaries.

The key is to develop a real sense of trust in the negative employee, which can allow them to start seeing the value of collaboration and cooperation.

Don’t Argue

Arguing with a negative employee will not get you anywhere, and unfortunately, they’re more likely to hold onto their attitudes than you are. In one study done at a large manufacturing firm that spanned across more than 30 countries, those who reported the most negativity were found to be 30% less happy than colleagues who felt the organization was doing just fine. This gap makes it much more likely you won’t win an argument, either literally or figuratively. Those who are negative are not likely to respond to statistics and facts. The odds are the emotional side will negate the logical side, firmly digging in its proverbial heels regardless of sound reasoning. While it’s not healthy for anyone, the negative employee is comfortable to a certain extent feeling the way the feel. Their pessimistic view may have been around long before they stepped foot in the company, and will be difficult to change.

Turn the Beat Around

If you want to do more than just isolate an employee, then you there are steps you can take to turn things around, but again, it will take time. Negative employees can have their emotions redirected by consistent reinforcement that they are indeed a valuable and contributing member of the organization. These efforts don’t have to be done in stealth either, they can be done right out in the open. Despite the transparency, employees are likely to respond to this. In fact, they may be even more willing to absorb the message if there is no subterfuge. The key is to develop a real sense of trust in the negative employee, which can allow them to start seeing the value of collaboration and cooperation.

Think of the Rewards

The concept of rewarding negativity (with extra attention) or catering to the needs of a negative employee may seem counter-intuitive. However, if the employee is valuable to the company and you feel their attitude can be rescued, it’s worth the effort. Fellow employees will hopefully see it as a clear sign that the company cares about the people they hire. The key is to practice these habits of respect on a larger scale for the good of everyone. These steps can go a long way to increasing collaboration as long as they’re done with the right intentions. It would be better to fully isolate yourself from the employee entirely than to try to act as though you feel a relationship that just isn’t there. While ‘fake it until you make it’ may work in some situations, this is not likely to be one of them.

Integrifystreamlines workflow processes to increase everyone’s productivity. By eliminating redundant tasks, our products can boost employee confidence to create a better environment. The right software won’t solve every problem, but it can certainly help when it comes to encouraging employees to get more done.